The 20 Days of Christmas
by Hyousetsu
Summary: As victims of 2 pieces of paper, a faint, and pesky teachers out for entertainment, how would Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Neji deal with the parties, shopping, and uncontrollable chaos in the month of December? [NejixSaku]
1. Fate Sealed, Hopefully Not

_Hyousetsu: At last! My second fanfic, staring Neji and Sakura! ) Hope you guys like it—never tried writing one. My first try! _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... :Wails:_

_Plus, a few things in my fanfic that you guys might want to know:_

_All of them are jounins in this fic :D_

_They're still in their teams, even though sometimes they separate for missions all around._

_They're mostly 16 and 17 in here_

_Most of them are part of the ANBU, some are not_

_Sakura's a medical nin, and Naruto's part of the ANBU – Sasuke isn't found yet

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**Chapter 1: Fate Sealed – Hopefully Not**

The team of Gai's had assembled under the shade of the cherry tree, waiting for their ever so slow teammate and sensei. It was December, the greatest celebrating time of Konoha, and the team – well, half the team, to be exact— was stuck under the bare tree waiting for the other two of the team to arrive. Tenten shivered and breathed into her hands, rubbing them together vigorously. She stood along with Neji, who seemed not a bit fazed by the weather. However, Neji's brow twitched in mild annoyance, betraying his normally indifferent look.

Damn those two.

He wasn't about to stand in the cold weather for all that much time, waiting for the two familiar watermelon-shaped heads to appear. As much as the Hyuuga genius didn't want to admit, he hated the cold weather. It was frustrating, especially when his trainings were taken into a much higher level each time Winter came, in fear that he would weaken once spring came once again. However, he did not see the usefulness in gathering around a bare tree, when the time could have been used in a far better way – training. Tenten looked at him, and he could tell that she was thinking the same damn thing. Neji twitched visibly when a puff of smoke appeared in front of him, along with those eye-killing shines of none other then Rock Lee and their sensei, Gai.

"Merry Christmas, Neji and Tenten!" said Lee, in a cheery tone that only fueled to Neji's sky high exasperation level. Tenten sighed and muttered something along the words "finally..." and returned the greeting with a smile of her own. Neji, however, just gave a small "Hn." and looked at the watermelon-headed teammate of his. Today, Lee looked much more energetic then usual, and that did not stay unnoticed by the Hyuuga prodigy. Raising a slender eyebrow, Neji looked at their sensei, who had that overly confident smile on hi face, much to his disgust.

Said sensei was looking at Lee while he was telling Tenten about another one of the stories of youth that were told to him by Gai himself. He sniffled, happy tears streaming down his face, not noticing the look Neji was sending him – a look of pure question for their sensei's sanity.

Hell, now their _sensei_ was crying? Neji stared at him, then sighed slightly in annoyance. He should have never came – even though he was very certain that Tenten would have stopped by, and ring the doorbell until it broke or something – if he still didn't pick up the ring, then she'd break in to wake him up. Neji winced as their sensei called all of them over, and had this look of seriousness on his face. "I have something to tell you three." He cleared his throat, and the threesomes' attention was focused on their thick-browed sensei. "A mission?"

"No."

"A lesson of youth?" a groand was heard, along with a smack.

"Still not correct." Gai wagged his index finger at the three, winking, while Neji tried to hide his face of pure disgust behind the sleeve of his shirt.

"Give up?" A 'hn' was heard, and Tenten nodded in defeat. Gai smiled his trademark smile, and gave a look of victory at the three. "Well, you all see, that we, the teachers of the four teams, had decided to start an event for this December…"

"NANI!" screeched Sakura her eyes wide, staring at their silver haired sensei, and Kakashi could feel himself sweating on the back of his neck. Naruto covered his ears to save them from being further damaged by Sakura's high piercing scream, wincing. A few birds flew from their perch on a nearby tree. Kakashi was still holding his 'Come Come Paradise', however, his ears ringing from the explosion of sound waves caused by his female student. Well, he had told them about the upcoming event, and both of his students did not seem very enthusiastic about it. However, Sakura had been more, (cough) violent about the situation then Naruto, who had just requested ramen after he mentioned the main obligation of the whole thing.

"You mean," said Sakura, who had calmed a bit, though not much, "That we are required to spend time with another person from another team for exactly 20 days?" Kakashi nodded, the eyes that never left the perverted book of his, finally looked up at his students who had grown quite much over the past4 years.

Sakura had grown quite a bit, in both her medical skills as a ninja, and her personality. She had long ago let go of her childhood crushes on Sasuke, and had set for a satisfying goal – turning into the best medical nin of Konoha, and she was close to accomplishing it. Her personality, however, had not a bit altered – she was still the determined soul she way4 years ago.

Naruto had been working hard under the teaching of Jiraiya, and he had accomplished quite a lot, for that he had become a jounin at the age of 16, much to Kakashi's surprise. Still, he was the Naruto he was4 years ago, his love for ramen never demolishing. He smiled, despite his mask, and turned back to the situation in front of him.

There were various reasons for said sensei to feel discomfort in front of his team:

A. His students were pissed at him for 'forcing' (Kakashi had coughed at this, earning a questioning gaze from Naruto, who was staring at their teacher in enthusiasm for further facts on what specific kind of Ramen his sensei was buying him) them into the whole event, even though Kakashi himself was a bit concerned for the two of his students, and he hoped that he wouldn't get a serious beating from both of them when the 20 days were over…

B. That his student would most probably skin him alive if he told them that they – the senseis - had though of it as a joke, but however wanted to try it anyway. The silver haired jounin shivered, regardless of his jacket, and pictured the scene of illegal skinning on the 'innocent' sensei of team 7.

All 4 senseis had planned it long ago, back on October in a nearby bar, when Gai had mentioned something about his student being too "un-youthful" by his standard, and had suggested that they use something that could possibly bring the students closer to each other. Kakashi had said something about Naruto and Sakura, and he remembered mentioning about how they weren't about to comprehend to their wishes, and would most probably give him a bloody nose if he told them that they would be spending a whole 20 days with someone they either didn't understand about or barely had contact with. Gai had nodded, then smiled, perfect white teeth shining, despite how dark it was in the pub (Kakashi had questioned all he could about the wonders Gai did to his teeth to make it shine in the dark), and told him about the 'wonderful punishment' he would give to the ones that did not participate. After a faint description of the "punishment', Kakashi actually felt sorry for the ones that were more likely disobey the rules, for that the 'punishment' gave even the great copy nin goose bumps on the back of his neck.

Kakashi sighed, and looked at his students sympathetically. They were in for something big, and Kakashi half grinned behind his mask seeing that Sakura was smacking on Naruto's head, lecturing something along the lines about his 'undying love for ramen'. Yes, they were in for something _very_ big, and he might as well take cover, incase they came 'kakashi-Bashing', as Naruto called it, when they found out what they were going to make them do precisely.

The four teams had come together at 10:00, each team composed of 3 ninjas and a sensei. As the last team joined the big crowd, the 4 sensei's had squashed together in a low talk, while the teams were also crowding together, wondering about what the whole ordeal was about. Most of the teams were restless, and the most obviously irritated team had been Gai, while all of them were wondering about who they would be pairing with.

"I wonder if I get Sakura-chan; I've got full confidence!" Lee, puffed up his chest, and Tenten just smiled nervously. All the while Neji was staring at the teachers, trying to form a variety of possibilities on whichever the way the senseis were going to pair then up in. As suddenly as the four senseis had crowded together, they had turned, and were now facing the Jounins standing in front of them, each looked questionably at their teachers; all 3, for the exception of Gai, were sweating and picking their nails, while the students just looked suspiciously at them. Gai cleared his throat. "Well, I believe that all four of us," he gestured at all the 4 teachers standing there, and a few were picking their nail, while the others were whistling nonchalantly, trying to look as innocent as possible, "have told each of you about the event that we are hosting for 20 days strait. We are doing this to mend the great friendship of all teams, and I believe most of you would probably love the opportunity of this 20 day break" There were small whispers of disagreement in the crowd, "and anyone who tries to back out, will receive my great lecture on Youth 6 hours per day for 1 whole week, and I am sure that you all will absolutely LOVE the lecture." Gai smiled and winked, his white teeth reflected the light like a mirror. Horrified expressions were appearing on all the students' faces, and the other 3 sensei's looked away, trying to ignore the angry glares of their students, sweat drenching their pale faces, for the exception of Gai, who was busy smiling at the crowd to notice the killing aura around two of his students, on the exception of Lee. Lee smiled the same smile as Gai, and made a thumbs-up pose. "Great!" cried Lee, and Tenten whacked him on the head, while Neji just glared at him, the killing aura still twirling fiercely around him. Who the hell needed the break? A Hyuuga didn't need breaks, and it was insane to force a person into one when he didn't want to even have one. He wondered if some bastard had suggested it to the senseis; he'd skin the person alive.

Kakashi laughed nervously, and scratched his arms. Sweat was pouring down his pale face, while Naruto and Sakura were staring holes on behind his head, looking like they were ready to kill. _I'd deal with him late… _"And now for the pairings…" Gai picked out two slips of paper from the delicately decorated box that was sitting next to him. "Pairings will be chosen by this," he held up the two pieces of paper between his long fingers, "and please do not switch, because we'd be writing all the pairings down." Gai smiled in triumph, and the students groaned, while Shikamaru just 'keh-ed', and murmured "How troublesome…" Ino started grabbing his hair in desperation; she hoped it wasn't Chouji, and she hoped with all he heart. Even Chouji had been slightly affected by the situation on hand, and had started stuffing chips into his mouth in a speed no one thought he had ever possessed. Most of jounins were gaping at him, and Gai fake-coughed at the lack of attention the students were giving him. "And the two lucky people are…" Gai opened the first two pieces of paper, and all the jounins were staring at him, sweating. The moment seemed to last for hours, even though it had been only mere seconds, and Gai opened the two pieces of paper, while the whole crowd was silent, holding their breaths.

Gai looked at the most unlikely couple that he was holding, and smirked. Now the genius was in for something he wouldn't have expected in his whole life span. He looked at the crowd, his eyes scanning for the familiar pink head and the silver eyed student of his, grinning from ear to ear. "Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Neji." All eyes turned to the two people, while silver-white eyes widened in surprise, a quite unfamiliar emotion to his normally calm face. Sakura gaped at the bowl head in front of her, then at Neji, who also had trouble hiding his shock, then back to her stunned blonde teammate, who was also looking at her. She did the only thing she could think of – she fell back and fainted.

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_Hyousetsu: Ahh, a very short chapter… yeah, and Neji gets paired with Sakura for the whole event. _:) _The next chapters going to be about the the official 'first day', so thanks for reading! BTW, I update at a slow rate, so sorry for the people who read fast, because it going to take a while before I update the next chapter… :'(_

_Please R&R! No flames please!_


	2. Shopping, A Skill

_Hyousetsu: Sorry for not UPDATING! Winter Break just past, and our family wasn't home for quite a long time. This chappie is the longest chappie I have ever written.  Hope you enjoy it! And thanks to all the reviewers for the previous chapter! I feel happy! Happy reading!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the shops mentioned in this fic! (aka Victoria's Secret)

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Chapter 2: Shopping –A Skill

Sakura brushed through her light pink tresses as she got ready for her 'date' she had today. She sighed, and put down the brush, while opening her closet and grabbing a light yellow dress, along with a pair of pale green high-heels. Today was officially day one, which made today one day after the day she passed out in front of the infamous Hyuuga – aka. Her "Date". Sliding on her yellow sleeveless dress, she remembered just two hours ago, she received a call from the Hyuuga prodigy himself, much to her surprise.

He had told her about what Asuma had said at once after Gai was bombarded by angry shinobi about the event, that they had to do at least one thingy each day, and that they had to write it down on the role of paper the senseis provided for them. They were required to turn the roll of paper each day to their sensei, and if they missed out one day, they would have to face Gai wrath, which included lectures on the beautiful youth- well, you know, that kind of stuff. Neji had "suggested" – more like forced, in Sakura's opinion – that they were to go training, since he did not agree on the idea of wasting 20 days just to "relax" when all the time could have made him a lot stronger then her already was. Sakura, in reflex, had said no, and suggested that they should go shopping, and get Neji out of his trademark white shirts, while getting him something new to wear – clothing somewhat more colorful. His eyes weren't helping much, either. Thus, the great verbal war between the pink haired kunoich and the Hyuuga prodigy officially begun. However, Sakura won by threatening Neji that if he did not go along with her plans, she would just have to tell Gai that a certain Hyuuga wouldn't go along with her, and had left the _poor_, _innocent_ Sakura on her own. Then Gai would go and get Neji, give him a lecture on youth and- Before Sakura finished her explanation, Neji had already given in, and told her that he would pick her up at 10. Right after that, the line went dead.

Sakura grabbed her light yellow bag when she heard her door bell ring, and glanced at the silver digital clock beside her bed post. A big neon one and zero was glowing to the black background, and Sakura smiled a little. She had known from Hinata that Hyuugas were never late, since the blue haired girl was always the first one to arrive on the girls' weekly shopping sprees. Giggling silently, she applied a layer of pink gloss, and headed towards the door.

Neji stood there and waited for the ever-so-slow kunoichi, and growled to himself for actually giving in to the evil women that threatened to tell Gai that he had abandoned her (Which he didn't.). However, coming to think of it, maybe he was better off going to the mall, then actually having to sit there and watch Gai babble about youth and all that stuff. He had witnessed it once, and it was not a pretty scene. Neji shivered unconsciously, but remained staring at the door, until he heard sounds of feet pounding down the steps, heading towards the front door. The door burst open, effectively whacking Neji on the face. The open door revealed Sakura, which Neji had to admit, looked good. Her sleeveless yellow dress flowed down to her knees, covering them, and her pink tresses were brushed neatly, let down as usual. Her face lit up a little when she saw Neji, who was still holding his nose, and she grabbed his arm.

"Let's Go!"

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Neji sighed and closed his eyes, trying to drown out all the staring, but it wasn't helping, due to his Byakugan. Many people were staring as Sakura pulled the silent Hyuuga down the streets of Konoha while she hummed, not noticing the pairs of eyes following her down the road.

* * *

Kakashi was having a hard time keeping the laughter that was building inside of him, while Naruto, who was sitting by his side, already burst out laughing. Tears were getting to him, and Naruto just looked at the pissed off Neji, who happened to be looking his way, and hid behind the cardboard sign of 'Come Come Paradise – Movie Version', even though he fully knew that Neji could see him, due to his Byakugan. Snickering, Naruto looked at his sensei, who was also grinning in mischief, while he looked down towards the twosome. Somehow, Naruto still felt like he was forgetting something, though he couldn't exactly put his finger on what it was exactly. Suddenly, Kakashi looked at Naruto, and spoke, "I thought you told Hinata to meet you at the park at 10:20." Naruto's eyes widened as he stumbled back towards his apartment, them raced towards the Hyuuga estate.

"Shit!"

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Sakura skipped and hummed happily, while she randomly stopped and stood outside the glass windows of all the clothing shops. Neji had been very stubborn about clothing shopping, and he had declared that he was not going into any of those. His reputation would be in threat if he was seen standing inside a clothing shop for WOMEN. Sakura sucked some air to prevent herself from laughing out loud, but a few giggles managed to escape. Neji turned to the source of the sound and eyed Sakura peculiarly.

"What's so funny?"

"-giggles- nothing… -round of giggles-"

"-Pissed look- If you aren't telling me, I'll tell Gai that you-"

"Fine, fine! I was thinking about what you said in front of... –Giggles more-"

Neji was quite surprised that Sakura had given up and told him what she was thinking about at the mere mention of his overly-youthful sensei's name. So that attack actually DID work on anyone. Neji started thinking about the list of people he was to threaten while Sakura just giggled on like a hyper school girl.

"You were –giggles- acting like a –wheezes- idiot –snorts- in front of Victoria's –giggles- Secret."

Neji glared at the pink haired girl beside him.

"You weren't much better."

Sakura shot him a look, "Of course I was much better! You were STARING."

"I was staring because YOU were staring. Don't blame it on me." Neji spat, while he glared down at Sakura, who looked defiantly at him. Huh, a person who wasn't scared of him, eh? Amusement twinkled behind his cold emotionless orbs, and Sakura saw right through it.

"Okay… Lets see." She grinned evilly, and Neji shivered unconsciously, due to the vibes Sakura was giving off. "Lets bet, if you can –"

"No." said Neji, and he walked forward, while Sakura ran up to him, and continued.

"If you can stand there watching models in only their a-hem walking around for ten minutes without getting a nose bleed, you get to lead for today, and I'll go anywhere you want."

Neji stopped walking, and looked back to her, his eyes questioning. What if she ran? She was completely NOT trustable on these kinds of matters. Sakura, however, managed to sense his unasked question and smirked.

"I won't run, scouts honor. But, in return, if you lose, we play MY way for today." Neji eyed her skeptically, while Sakura smirked back in return, and then seemed to think about it, before turning his whole body around, his infamous smirk plastered on his face.

"Deal."

Sakura's smirk widened, "C'mon, I know a friend who can get me inside." She led the way, and Neji walked behind her and sighed. Why did he make this meaningless bet? It wasn't like he was going to lose. After all, what could girls in undergarments do to the famous Hyuuga Prodigy?

* * *

Neji walked out of Victoria's Secret after Sakura, who was humming peacefully, with a tissue under his nose, soaked with blood. He cursed himself mentally for ever making the bet with the _evil_ kunoichi in front of him. Sakura turned back towards him and smirked tauntingly, while Neji just scowled back, taking the tissue under his nose and throwing it into the trash can nearby. He had lost at round one, and it wasn't a pretty sight either.

_Flashback_

_After Sakura talked to the manager about their bet, Neji sat on one of the purple plush chairs lining the wall, and closed his eyes. He was knocked on the head by Sakura, who had already finished talking with the manager, and half pushed half shoved the poor Hyuuga into the modeling room. Shoving him down to the ground, Sakura made him sit there, while she, on the other hand, sat beside him, holding a box of tissue, and smirked at him. Neji glared at her, and then turned back towards the stage where the first model was standing. Blood rushed to his face, and he fell backwards, leaving red marks on the clean purple plush carpet of Victoria's Secret._

_End Flashback_

He had managed to stop the flow of blood with the tissue, but his white shirt was one of the victims for the flow of blood, and the stainless white fabric turned crimson. Neji groaned, and Sakura twirled around to look at him in mild confusion, before eyeing his shirt, her eyes widening at the sight of the gigantic blood stain etched on the front. She smirked a little, while Neji backed away and glared at her. He was NOT letting her near him again – he wasn't ready for another nose bleed. He might fall down and die from the load of blood lost, and he was _not_ letting that happen. Sakura slowly crept up to him, and backed him into the wall. Neji started sweating, and looked down to the pink haired girl, who was glaring at him, her evil smile spreading over her beautiful features.

"We're going shopping."

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"I am _not_ wearing this." Neji glared fiercely at the shirt Sakura was holding in her small hand, and glared fiercely at it, willing it to burn up right in front of his eyes. She smirked, and shoved him into the dressing room. Neji banged on the door, while Sakura pressed on it, letting a bit of chakara flow into her palms. The commotion was causing people to stare, but Sakura wasn't going to care the least. Watching Neji suffer was worth it all.

"Let me out, _now,_ women." Neji said, glaring at the door of the dressing room Sakura locked him in. He glanced at the shirt Sakura gave him, and grimaced. She had a weird taste.

"It's Sakura! Just hurry up and change, then I'll let you out!" said Sakura from the outside of the changing room.

Neji growled something incoherent and slipped off his shirt, while putting on the one Sakura picked for him, a gray shirt with a bone in front, in the process.

"I'm done." Neji spat angrily, and stared at the door expectantly. A small crack opened, and Sakura peered inside, and then quickly closed the door. Neji could hear Sakura cracking up behind the changing room doors, and it was not a good sound to the irritated Hyuuga.

"Let me out, _now._" Neji growled again, waiting for Sakura to open the door. The door cracked open, and Neji saw Sakura crouching there, still laughing her ass off.

"Can you shut up, you immature-" Neji started, but was cut off by a hand and an angry Sakura glaring at him, though still smiling.

"Don't finish that." She eyed him up and down again, while Neji just stood there, glaring at her, while he crossed his hand in front of his chest, looking away. Sakura smiled, and winked at Neji, earning a questioning look from the clueless Hyuuga.

"You're _so_ buying it."

"Hell no."

"You really should, it suits you." Skura smiled a genuine smile, and skipped away humming, going off to look for cloth of her own, leaving Neji staring at her back. He glared at the offending piece of clothing, and headed towards the racks. _'Don't buy it, don't buy it, it's just a smile, don't buy it…'_ Somehow, the next minute realization sank in, he was already at the cash register, buying the offending shirt.

'_Damn that smile, and damn my self for falling for it.'

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Skura headed towards the cookie shop, and looked back towards Neji, who was holding gigantic bags of clothing from their previous shopping, and waved for him to move faster. However, Neji just remained on his own pace, while wheezing a little and headed towards the cookie shop, watching Sakura skip over and order. _'Damned, what the hell did she buy?'_ He dropped the bags to the floor, and looked at Sakura, who neared the counter, while waiting in line till it was her turn.

'I want…" Sakura looked around and eyed all the different flavors displayed on the shelves.

"This one!" Sakura pointed at the piece of chocolate chip cookie, and looked at Neji, her eyes silently questioning him for his flavor order.

"I don't want one." Sakura pouted, while Neji rolled his eyes (even though no one could tell since his eyes were all… white) and looked at Sakura, who had a finger under a chin, looking seriously at the different cookie flavors, with a look of pure curiosity plastered on her face. She smirked, and eyed Neji while inching over towards him. Once again, Neji found him in the uncomfortable situation as before, only that they were in a _cookie shop_, ordering _cookies,_ nonetheless. Though, he just remained impassive. _'You mustn't give up! You lost to her once, and you're not losing for the second time!'_

"What flavor would you like?" Sakura asked curtly, while Neji stared at her, his eyes shining a dangerous silver – due to irritation of course.

"I said,_ none._" He said through gritted teeth, while Sakura just nodded silently, them looked happily at the waiter, who was standing across the counter.

"A chocolate chip for him too, please."

"I said I didn't want any." Neji hissed, and glared at the smiling kunoichi through narrowed eyes.

Sakura just smirked, "You could use some sugar in your life." She smiled her trademark smile, and headed towards the counter to fetch her order. _'It's that damned smile again.'_ Neji sighed in defeat, and sat down on the nearest empty table, while looking at the smiling kunoichi, who was thanking the waiter. He closed his eyes lazily, folded his arms in front of his chest, and opened his eyes half way.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Orange rays danced across the sky, and Neji walked, while Sakura nibbled happily on her cookie. She observed him, must to Neji's distaste, and handed a cookie at him.

"Want one?"

"No." He remained to his walking, keeping his stotic face upright, and Sakura ran up beside him, them looked at him with her big, round, eyes.

"Pretty please?" Her lips started to quiver, and Neji sighed.

"I said n-"

Sakura stuffed the chocolate chip cookie into his mouth, and Neji was about to spit it out, when he suddenly tasted something sweet. He liked it. However, he would have rather jumped off a cliff then admit that to Sakura. He resumed to his walking, and Sakura stuck out her tongue playfully at him. When she turned around, Neji smirked, despite the cookie that was still in his mouth.

These 20 days were going to be _really _fun.

* * *

'_Scratch what I just thought.'_ Sakura stood beside him in front of the Hyuuga estate, and looked at him questionably, while Neji did the same to her.

"Aren't you going to go in? It's freezing out here." She seemed oblivious of the irritation waves that Neji was giving off at the moment, while she rubbed her hands together and blew into her hands, shivering at the cold. Her teeth gave off a noisy chattering sound while Neji stood silent, looking at her.

"Why the hell are you here?"

Sakura looked at him blankly. Then her lips twirled into a devious smirk. "Didn't you know? Hinata's hosting a party here, and _we _are invited." Neji looked at her impassively, however his eyes betraying his stotic face. He was panicking inside, and Sakura seized that opportunity to push the dumb-struck Hyuuga into the warm house.

"Get in, I'm freezing out here, ya know!"

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_Hyousetsu: Yupps, that it! I hope I'll be updating soon, so check in lik, 1 month for the next update! Thanks!_

_R&R, no flames please!_


	3. Do You Feel the Heat?

_Hyousetsu: I UPDATED! Okays, so this chapter is mostly about this flashback at the party, like the one at Hinata's in the last chapter. I'm so sorry for not updating for so long, but I really hope you enjoy reading this! –gives brownies to all reviewers- Thank you guys sooo much! Love you guys.  _

_Pluss, sorry for all the late updates, thanks for everyone who alert-ed and reviewed. You guys are awesome. :D _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… sighs

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**Chapter 3: Do You Feel the Heat?**

Okay, the party had been absolutely _painful_, for one thing. Even thinking of it made Neji, our favorite Hyuuga Prodigy, red in the cheeks. However, he was completely oblivious of the villagers, those who kept casting him questioning looks at the redness on his face, but gave up questioning, knowing that they wouldn't be able to get out a single detail out of the normally quiet Hyuuga.

But the point was that they already _knew_ what had happened, even before they had considered asking.

With one like Ino as a friend, things tended to get around at an amazing pace.

And the handprint made by a certain pink haired kunoichi had yet worn off till then. The dull ache did little to lessen the unease sitting heavily at the bottom of his stomach.

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Flashback

_Sakura giggled wildly, accompanied by drunk Hinata, o stood next to a certain drunk fox boy laughing maniacally and pointing a finger at a drunk Kiba. And he was spurting Martini out of his nose, quite a trick he had mastered during his previous hours at the party._

_The house was dimly lit, with only lavender scented candles lighting the living room, and the "bar", consisting of a table and several bottles of alcohol, stood next to the entrance. People were milling around, and the large space in front of the hallway served as a dance floor for many others that, including Sakura and Hinata, along with Ino and Naruto, were dancing happily at. Others, consisting of Neji and Shikamaru, comfortably placed themselves on the cream colored silk couch, quite laid back. Everyone else was goofing around, while sipping their own glasses of sake. Aside from the periodical "How troublesome"s coming from Shikamaru, Neji found everything else quite peaceful, despite the frequent crashing of glass to the white plush rug in the living room. _

_The only reason Neji had not tried to end this revolved around a sole objection: to piss Hyuuga Hiashi off._

_Luckily, Hiashi was out of Konoha at the moment, and Hinata seized the opportunity to invite the four teams to her house for a night of absolute partying, under the influence of a certain blonde kunoichi. _

_From all his sightseeing, he failed to notice a very giddy Sakura coming his way, swaying from side to side unstably._

_All had started out fine, but slowly, as people started to get drunk, Neji had finally realized what kind of dangerous situation he had gotten himself in. Firstly, Hinata was DRUNK (I know, very unlike her indeed), and that meant that no one was left to supervise the insane group of drunk teenagers, including himself._

_Secondly, a certain pink haired DRUNK – who blushing a beautiful red, he had to admit – kunoichi was pressing dangerously close to him, and there wasn't much he could do once Sakura hooked her arms around his neck, leaving his hands to place on the only other place available – her slender hips fitting tightly into her red silk miniskirt._

"_Nejiiiii…" she slurred, the alcoholic smell tinged in her breath. Her lush, pink lips were curved into a slightly drunk, dazzling smile. Neji's eyes widened, and he gulped audibly. Despite the fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach, he was starting to sweat, droplets forming on his handsome face, and his flushed cheeks were getting redder and redder with each approaching minute._

_Little did he know, their awkward ways were attracting more attention then they had counted for. People were hooting, lead by Naruto and Kiba, of course, and many had turned to see what the commotion was all about._

_They were about to get the shock of their lives. _

"_Sakura?" He face was inching closer to his, their breaths mingling with each others. During their "approach", Sakura's body had somehow found their way to the spot on the couch beside Neji, where she promptly seated herself. They were in quite an awkward position, with Neji backed up to the wall beside the sofa, and Sakura pressing closer by the minute._

_They were attracting much attention, indeed._

_People gasped all around them, and Neji gulped again, silver orbs widening a fraction of a second in mild apprehension. Paying no heed to those warnings flashing in his head, his body was far from listening to said consciousness. His hands had unconsciously – he carefully made a point to emphasis said point to his heretic fan girls the next day - sneaked themselves around her petite waist, and pulled her closer to his flush body, much to his own discomfort. 'Damn the irony.' Neji thought, his mind slightly hazy from the contact. His eyes lacked their normal hard spark, softening, and the misty white invading the familiar pearl from those of the Byakugan._

_Snap._

_Ino was watching with wide eyes, all the while her fingers pressing in a speedy blur across the keypad of her pink clad cell phone. Tenten sighed sympathetically at her anxious teammate, who seemed quite preoccupied, and smiled. Neji wouldn't know what hit him._

_Especially when a certain blonde decided in a stroke of genius to sell _photos_ to all his fan girls. Ah, the pleasure in watching him drown in hordes of maddened women._

"_Hey, Neji…" Sakura murmured, her slender fingers playing with his long silky hair, pulling a few strands from the low ponytail he usually kept them in, and grinned, her face holding a goofy yet seductive smile to it. By that time, absolutely EVERY person had come to see the act they were putting on. As if it was all an act. _

"_You're drunk." Yes, he was indeed stating the obvious. Why was he here again? Oh yes, he was here because his cousin had _accidentally_ failed to remind him that a certain chaotic event was taking place right then and there. How nice._

_Sakura glared at him with all the she could muster in her drowsy state, a light blush tinting her puffed cheeks. "What makes you say that, jerk?"_

_Fighting to keep the smirk intact, Neji allowed a close-to-nothing tilt to his lips._

"_I don't say so, I know so."_

"_Tricky bastard."_

"_Sadly." This time, he didn't manage to stifle the full-blooming smirk from taking over._

_She huffed, cheeks expanding akin to a puffer fish, before turning back to those chocolate strands between her fingers emerald orbs trained onto them._

"…_you pain in the ass."_

"_So I've heard."_

_She was glaring at him again. Ah, the wonders of glaring._

"_Asshole." She muttered under her breath, and being the Hyuuga he was, he remained silent, though the smirk on his face decreased non-a-bit._

"_I wasn't the first one to start this, you know." Sakura could feel him stare pointedly at her, his mouth tilted in a smug expression._

_She trailed a finger down his collarbone, eyes glazing over and eyelids slightly drooped. "You added fuel to the fire."_

"_Oh, did I?" He was mocking her, she could tell. Especially by the innocent look he was shooting her from his position, with her on his lap._

"_Yes, you did, and stop with the innocent look. It's pathetic." Neji was smirking again, but this time, Sakura could feel the mirth radiating from his body._

"_Well, it deems to work with others, so I might as well give it a try."_

"_And you fully knew that it wouldn't have worked."_

"_Have I?" Oh, how much she wanted to punch that smug smirk off his handsome face._

'_Nice try, Hyuuga, but not good enough.'_

"_I'm not your average fan girl, you see." Vaguely distracted by the stench of alcohol, Neji managed to replace his smirk with something akin to a smile. A curve on a handsome face, you say._

"_Then what are you?"_

_It was Sakura's turn to smirk._

"_What am I to you?"_

_There was silence accompanied by sharp intakes of breath, as the audience awaited an answer from the surprised Hyuuga._

_Wisely, he decided not to answer her question._

"_Hn." Neji was fighting to keep his eyes open and his consciousness in check, while breathing in the intoxicating delicate scent of the green eyed women that was currently sitting next to him. She smelled like vanilla and cherries. He glanced at her pink lips, wondering what they tasted like if he was ever to taste—_

'_WHOA. BAD NEJI. GET A GRIP!' His mind was screaming, and Neji winced at the loud sound that was penetrating in his blurry mind._

_Nevertheless, he ignored the screaming voice._

"_What do you do to your hair? It's so… soft…" she grinned again, but this time, the corner of her lips pulled up a bit higher, and she pressed herself closer to the Hyuuga prodigy, fingering a loose strand of chestnut hair, pulling lightly._

"_Mmm— Ow!" Neji winced and glared slightly at Sakura, who had plucked said hair off his head and was now grinning at him happily, while examining the delicate piece pinched between her two fingers._

_But the hell of it. The point was that he was freaking awake now, and VERY freaking embarrassed._

_His face was practically glowing red in embarrassment, while desperately trying to free himself from the iron grasp of Sakura, who was grabbing his sleeve, eyes closed._

_Naruto AND Hiashi would **never** let him hear the end of it. _

_Wait. Hiashi? _

_His silver eyes widened fearfully as he glanced at Hiashi, who was standing in silent rage at the front door, eyeing them like they was some kind of alien from some planet man kind never knew existed. Everything fell into an uncomfortable silence, only the sound of a glass cup falling to the floor and breaking into a million pieces, the liquid inside tainting the supposedly white carpet of the Hyuuga estate. Hiashi glanced at the mess in disgust, and turned his firm gaze back to the crowd. Many backed away from the menacing aura said Hyuuga was giving off, and he glared at them, pearl colored eyes scanning the room once again, his eyes resting for a moment on the troubled Hyuuga heiress. Hinata gasped, and fidgeted with her fingers, her eyes downcast._

"_Out." The single command filled the silent room, and many stared at him, muscles tense. He was known for his power in Konoha, and no one wanted to test his capacity._

_So, as the next moment went by, everyone was already out and running for their dear lives, with the exception of a sleeping Sakura, a fidgeting Hinata, and himself. He looked at his uncle, and bowed low. _

"_Uncle."_

_Hiashi merely glanced his way for a moment, before settling his stern gaze back to his daughter, who was looking away, eyes downcast. Hiashi's eyes narrowed, and he spoke, his voice beholding no emotion, only slight disappointment, which Neji heard, despite the low volume the Hyuuga was talking in._

"_I'm very disappointed in you, Hinata. I thought I taught you better."_

_His cold words seemed to strike a chord in the Hyuuga heiress, and Neji could clearly see that her lips were quivering and those white irises were filled with unshed tears._

"_You are dismissed."_

_Hiashi walked slowly, straight past Hinata, and towards Neji, who had long ago given up in pulling the pink haired women off of him once he found out that she had went into deep slumber, faint sounds coming from her in a rhythmic pace. Hiashi approached him, his eyes allowing no argument._

"_Bring her to your room."_

_Neji stared wide eyed at his uncle, and despite Hiashi being the cold shinobi he was, he smirked, eyes lined with mischief. _

"_Yes, you heard me. **Your room**. Just let her sleep for now."_

_Before Neji could reply, Hiashi had already disappeared down the dark hallway, his long brown hair flowing behind him. _

_Neji stared at the retreating form moving down the hallway, but his eyes settled on the sniffling Hinat. Large tear drops were rolling down her reddened cheeks and pooling at her chin as she sobbed quietly, her hands moving to wipe away the tears covering her cheeks. He sighed. Troublesome._

_Damn. He was sounding just like Shikamaru._

_One arm hoisting the sleeping Sakura into a more comfortable position, his other hand searched his pocket, feeling around for the familiar piece of fabric he always kept with him. For once, it was put to a good use._

"_Hinata-sama."_

_Hinata glanced up from her quiet crying, only to see something white flutter over to her, in which she caught in her hands. Glancing closely, she saw that it was a handkerchief, colored in nothing but white. The lace-less piece of fabric felt soft in her small hands, and she glanced at Neji, whose back was turned to her. He had one of his arms beneath Sakura's knees, while the other supported her back and shoulders, preventing her from falling out of his grip._

_Hinata dried the corner of her eyes, before smiling slightly at her cousin, her eyes showing gratitude._

"_Thank you." She whispered, fully knowing that despite the pace that Neji was going at, his hearing would have been able to pick up her thanks._

_He went on without stopping, but not before turning slightly, a small smirk plastered on his face, before disappearing behind a corner._

_Hinata smiled, the slight curve of her lips blossoming into a full smile._

"_Sakura-chan... Take care…"_

_Neji found his back aching from the awkward position he was in, with Sakura's hands still grabbing on tightly to his plain white shirt, not loosening her vice like grip even with Neji's futile attempts to pulls her off. She muttered something in her sleep, and her eyebrows creased. Pulling hard, Sakura jerked at Neji's shirt, thus causing Neji to tumble over and land right in front over her face, eyes wide and fully alert. His face was heating up at a relatively fast pace, and with the small smile on her face and those soft, pink lips open slightly were not helping the situation he was in now. He cursed under his breath, muttering mostly to himself and gripping her petite hands, semi-desperately prying them away from his spotless cotton tee. He glanced at Sakura as she whimpered due to her loss of heat, eyebrows kitting and slender arms slowly coming up to wrap around her chilled shoulders to the exposed brutal cold. It seemed like even the great Hyuuga Neji felt guilt severely nowadays._

_Silently, while still silently trying to pry of her death grip on his shirt, but with no avail, He studied her face silently, eyes tracing down her pink silk tresses, (cough) wide forehead, long eyelashes, and finally down to her lips, those that looked so nice to kis-_

'_DAMN IT NEJI!' his mental self smacked him right across the face. Literally. 'GET A FRIKKIN' GRIP OF YOURSELF! YOU CAN'T FALL FOR THAT EVIL WOMEN! SHE EMBARRASSED THE HELL OUTTA YOU! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU STAND HERE ADMIRING SOMEONE WHO TORTURED YOU FOR THE WHOLE DAMN DAY?'_

_Well, he couldn't say much to that. Not that he wanted to, anyway._

_He sighed, before gazing at the women who was still grabbing his shirt like her life depended on it, and smirked a bit. She intrigued him. One night wouldn't hurt, would it?_

_Before he knew it, he had already fallen asleep, back to the wall while sitting next to Sakura, snoozing away, and with Sakura snuggling against his chest, asleep. _

_Soft rays of sunlight flooded through the curtains, illuminating the formerly dark room, before it directed its wrath onto Sakura, who blinked and squinted at the offending source of discomfort emitting from the window. Her head hurt, and she felt heavy, her body weighing down and refusing to move. 'DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES OF ALCHOHOL!' Inner Sakura screamed. Well, she could care less then, since she had the whole morning to sleep away. Sighing, she rolled over, snuggling closer to the source of warmth beside her, and sighed contently, eyes closed. Oddly, it felt as if though her _pillow_ was moving, and not to mention _breathing_. It seemed too _alive_ for her taste._

_Damn. She didn't remember that she had a moving pillow._

_She grumbled something incoherent under her breath, and glanced up, emerald orbs scanning the person from head to toe._

"_Mom? What are you doing at my house?"_

_Neji's brow shot sky high, and his mouth twitched, a sure sign of his annoyance._

"_I'm not your mom, Sakura." He watched as Sakura buried her head back into her "pillow"._

"_Dammit, mom, you've said that before when I was still in the academy. You said I came with the strawberry box," The strawberry box, eh? "Why start now?" She mumbled, and Neji twitched a bit more, before settling on flipping Sakura over and shaking her awake. "Open your eyes, dammit!" _

_Sakura slowly opened her emerald green eyes, and the back of her hand swept up to rub at her eyes. Then she looked up at the **man** sitting next to her._

_Hrm. Black pants. White shirt. Not her typical coloring, but not bad. Brown hair. White eyes. Konoha Headban- wait. Her eyes darted up to the person's face, only when her stare met the observing gaze of silver. She wondered what kind of position they were actually in. Then, to her horror, she found herself curled up against Neji's chest, her head resting on his shoulder. She blushed madly; her face flashed red in a glow akin to the one of a neon sign, whiled Neji just cocked an slender eyebrow, watching in amusement as Sakura struggled to get up into a sitting position. She snatched her hands away from his waist, as if though she was burned by the contact, and blushed even more when she saw him staring at her, an amused look plastered his face. _

_How much she wanted to smack his overly arrogant ego._

_Turning away, she caught sight of a grumbling Neji, who sat up, while getting off the bed. He padded softly towards his closet, opening it and looking around, as if looking for something, leaving Sakura there, fumbling with her thoughts._

'_Oh my god, what the HELL does he think he was doing, sitting next to me! How long has he been there? What the hell did he do! What-"_

'_**Oh, Sakura, stop being so CHILDISH for your own good. He was damn WARM, man!' **Inner Sakura chided, grinning, her face lined with triumph._

'_SHUT UP!'_

'_**Don't say that. You know fully well that you're talking to YOURSELF, do you?' **Inner Sakura laughed maniacally before she disappeared, leaving Sakura fuming at herself._

_She sucked in some air, before screaming. Birds flew from their perches on the trees, and animals scurried back to their homes._

_Somewhere in Konoha, Naruto rubbed his eyes, grumbling, before glancing at his clock. Muttering a string of curses under his breath, he fell back onto his feathery pillow, asleep and snoring peacefully._

"_PERVERT! –slap-" _

_Once out of the house, sympathetic looks were cast his way the time he was walking, and he vaguely wondered how everyone seemed to know so much about him.

* * *

_

_End of Flashback(Yes, quite a long for a flashback)_

Now, with Naruto standing before him, laughing his ass off and wiping tears from his cerulean eyes, Neji wanted nothing more then to punch his stupid laughing face in.

Damn. He shouldn't have told him. Even though Naruto _was_ the one to rid him of his past, the loud blonde laughing – heck, _anyone_ who laughed at him – was going to pay. Dearly. His brow was twitching in irritation, with his Byakugan threatening to get into action when he felt a vein pop out onto his forehead. His hands shook from the temptation to strangle the amused blonde, and his mind went over the various ways of 'fun killing'. Here he was, telling him about all that crap he had ensued. And he laughs his ass off at him. Great. Perfect. He had to stop being so sarcastic.

His mind unconsciously drifted towards a certain pink haired kunoichi, her smile imprinted in his mind, the wall she laughed- He shook his head, mentally slapping himself hard across the face, before glaring at the still laughing shinobi, who was clutching his stomach in pain from laughing so long. Crystal blue eyes were lined with tears as his deep laughter echoed through the forest, leaving many animals in question of what the hell they were doing.

30 minutes later, and with a black eyes imprinted onto the left side of his face, Naruto recovered from his maniacal laughter, and was sitting on the ground cross legged, a lop sided grin hanging onto his features. Neji's glare intensified, those white eyes of his burning holes into his skull. Naruto whimpered under his killer gaze, his clear blue eyes widening in fear of Neji, while said Hyuuga allowed his pissed aura to roll off him like waves.

However, Naruto was determined not to freak out. He still had the 'thing' he had gotten from the party… MUHAHAHA! Barely containing his evil cackle, Naruto glanced at Neji mischievously, a look which Neji caught and dreaded. With all those pranks Naruto was able pull off, he didn't doubt his ability to embarrass him right in front of the village. Damned. The grin was spreading like a disease, covering all of his features, while his bangs hung over his face, serving as a blonde sunny curtain.

Neji gulped. This was not good. He took a step backwards into the crisp snow.

Naruto was shaking by them, before he dropped his head backwards, laughing like a madman. Neji was inching backwards, his back scraping against bark, while Naruto, who had sprang from his position on the mesh grassland, grinned at him hysterically. In a wisp of white, something white and light was held captive between his index finger and thumb, while itself was fluttering in the breeze, threatening to fly away if he had ever let go. Neji eyed Naruto warily, for looked at him, feigning innocent with his gigantic crystal eyes.

The feeling of discomfort settled once again at the pit of his stomach, driving the world around him in dizzying circles.

Naruto proceeded to wave the picture right under Neji's chin, before snatching the fragile piece away from the snatching hands of said shinobi. "Aw, Neji! Don't look at me like that! Or else I'll let go of this _picture!_" he squawked slyly, grinning like a mad school girl, while the picture fluttered gently in the winter wind. Neji eyed him accusingly, his doubting glances tinged with a pint of curiosity

Before his face draining of its already not-so-healthy color, replaced by a ghostly pale.

He just _freaking_ found out what the _hell _he was holding between those rough fingers of his. He stared scornfully at the blonde, who felt the air around him dive down a few degrees, and Naruto shivered, before regaining his composure, the picture still locked securely between his pink fingers that were slightly numb from the cold.

However, he just about melted into a bubbled puddle of puss when Neji glowered at him, the fierce killer look in his eyes fueled by the future hokage's discomfort.

And Naruto still had the guts to pat his butt two times before using a finger to pull down one side of his cheek, sticking his tongue out at him in a mocking manner.

Neji felt the vein on his forehead throb and his pulse quicken as he thought of the consequences of a pissed off Sakura chasing his around Konoha, her pink locks blowing wildly in the wind while he ran for his dear, petite life. Man, were women scary at times.

Neji swallowed audibly, trashing that thought into the back of his mind along with many others, he glared at the Kyuubi kid, who was once again smiling smugly at the Hyuuga prodigy in a sardonic way. "Who the _hell _took that damned picture?" he spit out between gritted teeth, obviously refraining from the urge to bite the blonde head off with all him might. He stood there, calm and all, but Naruto could feel Neji tense as he waited for his reply.

Naruto was grinning that stupid grin of his again. Damn him. He was going to slaughter whoever took that freaking picture.

"Shino did."

Correction. He was going to buy _bug spray_ and slowly, painfully suffocate said bug controller, then throw his remnants down a cliff, along with his stupid pictures plus camera.

"Let's make a wager, shall we?" asked Naruto slyly, the sweetness of his high pitched voice stabbing Neji's eardrums. Sighing in desperation, the Hyuuga prodigy rubbed his ears, slowly massaging sore spots here and there. 'Bad, Hyuuga, bad.'

"Does that mean no? I get to keep the picture?" Naruto pinned Neji down with a honey-coated stare, and Neji didn't like the glint and the slightest flicker of mischief flashing through those sky blue orbs.

"What…?" he managed to spit out in venom before he relented from the urge to slash a certain someone's –cough- fox-cough- head off.

Naruto's grin broadened. Neji could feel the shiver finding its way up his spine.

"Kiss Sakura-chan, and you get the picture." Neji could hear his jaw bluntly hitting the floor in a 'thud' and watch as Naruto spit out gales of laughter from his overly excessive mouth. Ah, the pride of a Hyuuga. Such distance. Sigh.

"Deal?" waving the picture back and forth with only his index and thumb holding the masterpiece in place, Naruto pined down the sputtering Hyuuga with a look of overfilled mischief and amusement. This was going to be one hell of a show.

"… You do know that you're about to be discarded of with your remnants never found, do you?"

"Since _never_ did I know."

'Sakura-chan would _love_ this.'

After leaving off a peal of laughter in his wake, Naruto sped off, with a pissed off Hyuuga right at his heel.

* * *

Sakura was grumbling under her breath, her mind still piecing together the fragments of her memory together, especially those of yesterday night. All she remembered was drinking her first shot of alcohol, doing something with Ino cheering her on, and then, in the morning after it all happened, finding herself in the same room, nevertheless, the same bed as the hottest Hyuuga in the village.

A blush was slowly creeping up her clear features, leaving her mind slightly hazy from the heat radiating from her head. It wasn't wholly unpleasant though, she mused, since she found herself in a rather comfortable position on the mattress, while the Hyuuga sat beside her, his strong frame being the center of warmth.

Her face flared at her thoughts, and she raised her hands to rub them together in a gesture of warming herself, with the freezing wind blowing fiercely against her already flushed skin. Her petal-colored locks flapped across her beautiful face, and she quivered from the cold.

It was December seventh already, and she was supposedly headed to find her 'teammate' for the time being, however finding his presence lacking from every place her mind could muster. Heck, she even asked Lee, and as a proud survivor of his blazing shine, she was left crestfallen when he shouted to the world in all his Rock Lee glory that he, in fact, did not know where said Hyuuga was currently at and doing what so.

'_Since when did **you** start to care, anyway?'_Inner Sakura scoffed, and Sakura could almost imagine the lines of self-satisfaction twirling about.

Sighing, she pulled her pink fluffy coat closer to her lithe form, and preceded with her journey, her lips pushed into a thin line. Though, in the distance, she could make out two blurry figures, one clad in a bright orange that made it almost impossible to look at, and one who was clad in a snowy white, and she didn't need to think twice before identifying the racing figures heading at a inhuman speed her way. She raised a hand to her lush pink lips to call at Neji, but however found herself attacked by a gust of wind as the twosome raced forward, completely ignoring her existence. Well, that was before they stopped quite a distance away, then heaving their bodys towards the general direction of Sakura. Naruto seemed to be bickering with Neji about something, while Neji bit back at him, his face flushed while he desperately tried to free his hands from the uncomfortable position they were held at.

Sakura glared at him through narrowed emerald, before making her way towards the duo, oblivious of all those glances her fan boys were casting her, and those looks by passer people were throwing towards her.

Upon arriving next to the two, Sakura glared at them, watching Neji stiffen, much to her satisfactory, and Naruto rub the back of his unruly blonde tresses, a habit that he had earned during his genin days that had unconsciously tagged along during all those years.

Neji could feel the cold sweat drenching the back of his shirt as he frantically reviewed of all the mushy scenes he had been forced to witness in those lovey dovey movies Tenten had managed to pull off. ('Threat,' Tenten would always say, 'is of great convenience.') She always ended up sniffling with fat tears rolling down her puffy cheeks when the two people would say something incredibly romantic -or stupid, in Neji's opinion, as he always yawned and slept at those parts - and then they would do the mouth to mouth work that _he_ was supposed to do at this specific moment.

Which he dreaded.

He pointedly ignored those frequent murmurs running around them, a small crowd already surrounding them in a tight circle. But it seemed more like the whole village of Konoha was surrounding threesome.

Sakura vaguely wondered why everyone was so interested in their personal lives, instead of minding their own businesses like they were supposed to.

'It's now or _never_.' Bracing himself for the worst, Neji stepped up to Sakura, who stood there, glancing uneasily at him, clearly sending him a signal of distrust behind those slit pools or green.

Catching her chin between his nimble fingers, Neji bowed down slightly, his brown locks brushing and tumbling down her heavily cloaked shoulder, since he was about one head taller then her. Sakura felt a warm pair of lips brush themselves across her left cheek softly, before his warm fingers left her face, leaving her there blushing like there was no tomorrow.

People gasped all around them, and gossip spread across the crowd, with people busy dialing their less fortune friends to tell them what in earth they had _unfortunately_ missed. Fan boys fell to the ground, sobbing and drowning themselves inside their own tears, while fan girls cried hysterically as they did so.

Naruto stood there, the shock and delight lighting his sharp face gleefully. He knew he had skill in this type of thing. Blushing a brilliant shade of cherry, Neji turned sharply to face the snickering kyuubi boy, who was clutching his stomach in silent laughter, while tears sprang to his cerulean eyes.

"Give me the freaking picture." Neji growled, his eyes ablaze, while a certain to-be-hokage shuddered at the glare he was sending him.

With his personal victory still resounding in his mind, Naruto grinning, his face glowing, literally. "But you didn't do it mouth-to-mouth!"

It was Neji's turn to smirk. Things were finally going his way. "You didn't specify _where_." The glint in Neji's eyes was giving Naruto the impression that he was about to eat him alive, and Upon realizing his deadly mistake, the soon-to-be hokage only maximized his grin until they reached the sides of his face. Neji backed away. He had a bad feeling about this.

"If you could catch me!" Laughing

"MEHHEHEHEHE! YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME YOU BIG MEANIE! MUHAHAHHAHA!" People stared as Naruto ran for all he was worth, grinning and mocking the pissed Hyuuga running after him.

But that was before he ran into something, or someone to be exact.

* * *

Leaving the limp body of the supposed to be Future Hokage there on the sidewalk, they left the bystanders to gawk at the beaten up –ahem- witness –cough-. Clutching the picture to her heaving chest, Sakura let out a content sigh, a small smile evident on her glossy lips, while Neji walked beside her in long strides, his every move graceful and deliberated. Flipped up the picture, Sakura eyed Neji with wide emerald orbs, before glancing down at the slip of photogenic paper that Neji had given his life to chase down. Sakura blushed crimson at the contents, and glanced up at Neji, who smirked slightly. Keeping her head down, she clutched the offending piece of _crap_ under her bone-crushing grasp, before loosening her hold on the crumpled piece, following its trail as it tumbled from her nimble fingers onto the concrete below. The wind blew, and the picture was swept away, rolling into a distant bush.

Neji observed her, while she huffed, her cheeks puffing up, and her eyebrows creasing together. She looked unbelievably… what was that word… ah, yes. Appealing.

He marveled at the new feeling unraveling inside of him, and took the chance to glance at Sakura, who also happened to be sneaking a peek at him as well. Turning away, they both fought the blush threatening to stretch across their frozen cheeks.

At least that was a start.

* * *

Kakashi strolled through the park, his jounin vest topped with a gray fuzzy hoodie that kept at least a little warmth to his frost-covered body, while his onyx eyes were trained onto his orange book that clearly screamed 'mature', and him, obviously, was enjoying the events unfolding about in that little perverted book of his.

That was before he managed to step on an _interesting_ ball of crushed paper that strangely resembled a photo.

He bent down, with much effort on his side, and grabbed the small tumbled photo with his numb fingers, while unfolded and ceased the creases, his eyes still attached to that book of his. His eyes averted from the perverted illustrations on his book for a moment, long enough before he turned back to his book, continuing on with his adult rated reading.

Not long after, he did a double take, eyes widening to stare at the crumpled photo held between his pale fingers. Lifting a calloused hand to scratch his silver-gray hair, Kakashi lifted an eyebrow, his dark orbs showing genuine surprise.

Suddenly, a brilliant thought struck the ingenious mind of the great Kakashi and he looked up to the gray sky, lined with rain clouds flouting above his head. He sighed, thouse his lips were still twisted in a smirk, well hidden beneath his mask. With that plan of his, he hoped that it didn't rain the day his inspired plan was set to work.

Evil cackles resounded the seemingly gray park, and kids ran to their mothers, crying and sobbing about a mad man cackling behind the bushes.

* * *

_Hyousetsu: YESS! I FINISHED THE THIRD CHAPTERRR:D I thoroughly enjoyed writing this, especially the Kakashi part.  I hope I really get to see him wearing a hoodie someday. –sighs dreamingly-_

_It was awesome with all your reviews, and I thank every one of you guys for all those responses! I enjoyed reading them all. –grins-_

_And what's Kakashi going to do? –does drumroll effect- Coming in the next chap. :D_

_&& I'm hoping to get some NejiSaku stuff into the next chap.  and nice stuff. -huggs all the reviewers- love you guys!_

_Please R&R!_


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